Ethnic diversity as a multilevel construct:the combined effects of dissimilarity, group diversity, and societal status on learning performance in work groups

The authors present a model of the multilevel effects of diversity on individual learning performance in work groups. For ethnically diverse work groups, the model predicts that group diversity elicits either positive or negative effects on individual learning performance, depending on whether a focal individual’s ethnic dissimilarity from other group members is high or low. By further considering the societal status of an individual’s ethnic origin within society (Anglo versus non-Anglo for our U.K. context), the authors hypothesize that the model’s predictions hold more strongly for non-Anglo group members than for Anglo group members. We test this model with data from 412 individuals working on a 24-week business simulation in 87 four- to seven-person groups with varying degrees of ethnic diversity. Two of the three hypotheses derived from the model received full support and one hypothesis received partial support. Implications for theory development, methods, and practice in applied group diversity research are discussed.

Societal transformation and programmatic change in the CDU

This article places the changing policy profile of the CDU into the context of the gradual transformation of German society since the 1970s and especially since unification in 1990. It argues that in order to understand key areas where the CDU has reformed its programme, we must first understand the broader, meta-level trends in society. In its main section, the article sketches out the long-term changes that have occurred in three principal areas (demographics, labour market outcomes and the economic status and the role of women), and relates these to debates that have taken place in the CDU's programmatic profile. The article therefore concludes that consideration of the societal context complements agency-based explanations for programmatic change. © 2013 Association for the Study of German Politics.